Born: January 9, 1913 Died: April 18, 1994 Political Party: Republican Term of Office: January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974 Vice President 1969 - 1973: Spiro Agnew Vice President 1973 - 1974: Gerald Ford
Presidential Evaluation
Richard Nixon was everything that Republican Americans wanted in the late sixties. They were fed up with the hippie-movements and desired something stable, it was for these reasons that he won the 1968 Presidential Election. Nixon had big ideas for the country and he managed to turn some into reality, like improving America's relationship with China as well as the Soviet Union and getting the U.S. out of Vietnam. He was also the first president to be forced to resign from the presidency. Considering all of these factors, Nixon deserves a letter grade of a C.
Nixon came into the presidency with several goals for the country, the most immediate being ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Others were: to reconstruct the Western Alliance, develop a relationship with China, pursue arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, activate a peace process in the Middle East, restrain inflation, implement anti-crime measures, accelerate desegregation, and reform welfare. Before Nixon was elected to the presidency his slogan was "Nixon is the One", and it was this that helped him win because he didn't share most of his goals/ideas until after he was elected.
Nixon did not have a good relationship with the Democratic Congress during his presidency. After he had announced his new economic policies in August 1971 Congress passed the Economic Stabilization Act with the hopes that Nixon wouldn't use the power to set wages and prices and he would seem indecisive. They did manage to agree on a few things like the Equal Rights Amendment, Title IX (against gender discrimination), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Nixon decided to veto the Comprehensive Child Development Act (universal child care), but did agree to sign Title X, which dealt with family planning as well. He didn't make a few males happy when he showed support for the feminist movement and signed Title IX into law, increasing the number of administrative positions for females in the country. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, despite Congressional opposition, the U.S. was encouraging the shipment of military equipment from Iran, Turkey, and Jordan to Pakistan, reimbursing those countries. At the beginning of Nixon's second term as President he began to realize that inflation was increasing, but Congress' control of price was soon to end. To solve this problem he took the suggestion of the Democratic Caucus in 1973 and issued a 60-day freeze on all prices, interest rates, and profits.
Pulling American troops out of Vietnam had the most positive impact during Nixon's presidency. At home, many Americans were against the war altogether. There were protests and rallies held daily begging for the safe return of the many troops in Vietnam. The U.S.' money was being wasted in a never ending war and it was not a time for the country to be wasting money. Nixon paid attention to what his fellow Americans wanted as well as what was best for the country financially at the time. Congress also agreed with his developments. He didn't just back out in one day because he knew that wasn't realistic. His policy of "Vietnamization" placed South Vietnam troops in the spots of American troops as they were sent back to the U.S.
Watergate clearly had the worst impact on Nixon's presidency, because it is what led to his resignation. Nixon was a paranoid person and for this reason he wasn't sure if he would win the upcoming election. With the help of the Committee to Re-Elect the President, Nixon spied on the Democratic National Convention, but was caught with help from two reporters at the Washington Post Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. He had no choice but to give up his position as President of the United States after this.
Nixon did manage to leave his mark on the U.S. before his resignation. The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, is still in affect today and has certainly impacted the nation's President's every election. He also set the goal of peace for future presidents. By improving U.S. relations with both China and the Soviet Union, he set the precedent that there is always a way to improve and something can always be worked out, even if that way is a ping-pong tournament with China. Communism still scared America, but we were not going through a red scare any time soon.
The country was better off when Nixon resigned as President. The troops were coming home, the outlook with other countries was good, and civil rights were improving all around the nation. Watergate was a disappointing event, because it was highly likely that Nixon would have won the election anyway, it lowered the trust that many Americans felt towards their President. Considering all of these reasons, Nixon deserves a letter grade of a C.
Richard Milhous Nixon
Born: January 9, 1913
Died: April 18, 1994
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974
Vice President 1969 - 1973: Spiro Agnew
Vice President 1973 - 1974: Gerald Ford
Presidential Evaluation
Richard Nixon was everything that Republican Americans wanted in the late sixties. They were fed up with the hippie-movements and desired something stable, it was for these reasons that he won the 1968 Presidential Election. Nixon had big ideas for the country and he managed to turn some into reality, like improving America's relationship with China as well as the Soviet Union and getting the U.S. out of Vietnam. He was also the first president to be forced to resign from the presidency. Considering all of these factors, Nixon deserves a letter grade of a C.
Nixon came into the presidency with several goals for the country, the most immediate being ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Others were: to reconstruct the Western Alliance, develop a relationship with China, pursue arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, activate a peace process in the Middle East, restrain inflation, implement anti-crime measures, accelerate desegregation, and reform welfare. Before Nixon was elected to the presidency his slogan was "Nixon is the One", and it was this that helped him win because he didn't share most of his goals/ideas until after he was elected.
Nixon did not have a good relationship with the Democratic Congress during his presidency. After he had announced his new economic policies in August 1971 Congress passed the Economic Stabilization Act with the hopes that Nixon wouldn't use the power to set wages and prices and he would seem indecisive. They did manage to agree on a few things like the Equal Rights Amendment, Title IX (against gender discrimination), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Nixon decided to veto the Comprehensive Child Development Act (universal child care), but did agree to sign Title X, which dealt with family planning as well. He didn't make a few males happy when he showed support for the feminist movement and signed Title IX into law, increasing the number of administrative positions for females in the country. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, despite Congressional opposition, the U.S. was encouraging the shipment of military equipment from Iran, Turkey, and Jordan to Pakistan, reimbursing those countries. At the beginning of Nixon's second term as President he began to realize that inflation was increasing, but Congress' control of price was soon to end. To solve this problem he took the suggestion of the Democratic Caucus in 1973 and issued a 60-day freeze on all prices, interest rates, and profits.
Pulling American troops out of Vietnam had the most positive impact during Nixon's presidency. At home, many Americans were against the war altogether. There were protests and rallies held daily begging for the safe return of the many troops in Vietnam. The U.S.' money was being wasted in a never ending war and it was not a time for the country to be wasting money. Nixon paid attention to what his fellow Americans wanted as well as what was best for the country financially at the time. Congress also agreed with his developments. He didn't just back out in one day because he knew that wasn't realistic. His policy of "Vietnamization" placed South Vietnam troops in the spots of American troops as they were sent back to the U.S.
Watergate clearly had the worst impact on Nixon's presidency, because it is what led to his resignation. Nixon was a paranoid person and for this reason he wasn't sure if he would win the upcoming election. With the help of the Committee to Re-Elect the President, Nixon spied on the Democratic National Convention, but was caught with help from two reporters at the Washington Post Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. He had no choice but to give up his position as President of the United States after this.
Nixon did manage to leave his mark on the U.S. before his resignation. The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, is still in affect today and has certainly impacted the nation's President's every election. He also set the goal of peace for future presidents. By improving U.S. relations with both China and the Soviet Union, he set the precedent that there is always a way to improve and something can always be worked out, even if that way is a ping-pong tournament with China. Communism still scared America, but we were not going through a red scare any time soon.
The country was better off when Nixon resigned as President. The troops were coming home, the outlook with other countries was good, and civil rights were improving all around the nation. Watergate was a disappointing event, because it was highly likely that Nixon would have won the election anyway, it lowered the trust that many Americans felt towards their President. Considering all of these reasons, Nixon deserves a letter grade of a C.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon - Richard Nixon on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_Doctrine - The Nixon Doctrine on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal - Information on Watergate on Wikipedia
The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents by William A. Degregorio